Warders warned over Waterkloof party

Johannesburg - Any official found to have helped with a jail cell party for two of the “Waterkloof Four” will be punished, Correctional Services Minister Sibusiso Ndebele said on Tuesday.

“Anarchy at any correctional centre will not be tolerated, and any official, or offender, found guilty of any such offence will face the full might of the law,” he said in a statement.

Since 2009, over 171 correctional services officials were dismissed, demoted or suspended for offences related to fraud and corruption.

Convicted killers Frikkie du Preez and Christoff Becker were re-arrested on Sunday, four days after being released on parole, for allegedly smuggling alcohol and having a party in Pretoria's Kgosi Mampuru prison.

A video of the party was taken on a cellphone was posted on You Tube. It shows Du Preez and Becker allegedly drinking alcohol, and using a cellphone in the jail cell.

Bekker, Du Preez, Gert van Schalkwyk, and Reinach Tiedt were released on Tuesday after being jailed for beating a homeless man to death in Pretoria in 2001.

Correctional services spokesman Manelisi Wolela said an update on the jail party probe would be available on Wednesday. On Sunday, he said the investigation would involve watching the video, interviewing the two parolees and speaking to those responsible for security on the day.